The Hammer Corporation (T.H.C.), based in Atlanta, GA, is a 21-year-old entrepreneurial sales and marketing company. The company operates Innovative Candy Concepts (ICC), America's first guilt free candy company featuring popular kids candy brand Too Tarts ® SmartChoiceTM. ICC also markets HammerstrongTM herbal and vitamin supplements. Over the years, it has greatly expanded its market base from the convenience store segment to include rapid growth in the grocery, mass merchant, drugstore and specialty retail segments of the industry.

1989

Starting with five employees and only two products (one over-the-counter pharmaceutical and one herbal) in 1989, the company sold to a network of small independent distributors that serviced the convenience store industry. The product line grew to include several over-the-counter and herbal products by 1995.

1996

T.H.C. introduced the first liquid candy, under the brand name Too Tarts, to this small network of distributors. This gradually changed the company's landscape and new product focus to the kids candy market.

1998

Product Introduction: Sour Powder

1999

Repackaged liquid sour candy into spray bottles

2000

Product Introduction: Xtra Sour Goo

With the growth of the kids candy in the late 90s, in 2000, T.H.C. decided to concentrate on growing the candy market under the name Innovative Candy Concepts. By now, ICC was selling to the largest c-store, mass retail, and grocery distributors, the national chains they served, and large specialty chains, such as Blockbuster Video and Best Buy.

The candy industry, for the first time, began to realize the appeal of sour candy as more than a fad or novelty. It has, in fact, become the cornerstone of the kids candy market. Retailers now recognize kids candy as a viable profit center and stock with mainstream products that have consistent sales growth, not just novelty items and seasonal items. Too Tarts products were largely responsible for this shift to mainstream kids candy.

2001

ProductIntroduction: Sweet Spray Candy

Too Tarts grew into a national brand and a leader in retail sales, and the innovation continued:

2002

Too Tarts Mysteriously Strange UFO's were voted the Best New Product of the Year of the year by C-Store News magazine.

2003

Too Tarts was awarded the Silver Circle Award as Category Driver of the Year by Confectioner magazine (an award previously awarded only to major candy companies).

National Paperboard Packaging Competition Gold Award Winner

Too Tarts is currently the only kids candy to have been featured in five separate segments of the The Food Network's #1 rated television show, Unwrapped, with several airings each.

New Suck-Ups miniature baby bottles were introduced, with the company's exclusive Jammy Juice -- a healthier, better tasting kids candy. The product launched in late 2003, and the initial response indicated that it would become Too Tarts' best-selling kids product.

Too Tarts candy sales had grown to record figures, annually.

I.C.C. introduces Guilt Free Sinfully Delicious Dessert Tablets, its first candy for the adult consumer. Sinfully Delicious dessert bites are sugar free, fat free, low carb, two-calorie candies that mirror the tastes of the world's most popular desserts. The introduction of this candy, perfectly timed to benefit from the current health conscious consumer and the interest in low carb diets, in particular, was greeted with wide market acceptance. It also has enormous appeal for its viability with the diabetic market, as it is made with the nutritive sweetener mannitol, considered safe for diabetics.

Sinfully Delicious, in just a short time, garnered national media attention: • Featured as one of the best new sugar free candies on NBC's TODAY Show • Two appearances on QVC, in which Sinfully Delicious sold out in only eight minutes, and was among the top sellers in the segment • Sinfully Delicious was named one of only three sugar free favorites by Good Housekeeping magazine, in the February 2004 issue

Too Tarts Spray Candy and XTRA Sour Goo is featured in a segment on the Food Network Show Unwrapped.

2004

ICC, true to its name, leads the industry in innovation announcing the reformulation of its entire product line – eliminating all refined sugar and replacing it with fruit juice concentrate.

Too Tarts was again awarded the Silver Circle Award as Category Driver of the Year by Confectioner magazine.

Convenience Industry News Stars of the Industry Best Product Award in Confectionery category.

CSP Retailer Choice Best New Products Contest Winner

Progressive Grocer's 2004 Category Captain Award Winner

Too Tarts SmartChoice nominated for Professional Candy Buyer's Product of the Year in Novelty/Kids segment

National Paperboard Packaging Competition Gold Award Winner

Sinfully Delicious Dessert Bites are featured in a segment on the Food Network Show Unwrapped.

ICC continues to expand its national distribution into mass merchandisers, national retail chains, convenience stores and grocery chains. Too Tarts SmartChoice products begin to top the charts as national best sellers. Innovative packaging and health benefits of Too Tarts SmartChoice brand attracts growing national media attention as a healthier, better-for-you kids candy.

2006

ICC launches new innovative DREAM CHEWS, the first-ever chewy candy containing NO REFINED SUGAR. DREAM CHEWS are made of real fruit, fruit juice concentrate and fruit puree, are Fat-Free and an excellent source of Vitamin C. These intensely fruit flavored chewy candies start out sour then turn sweet as you chew them and come in an assortment of flavors including Blueberry, Strawberry, Apple and Raspberry. DREAM CHEWS also features new, innovative packaging using bright holographic foil and a unique resealable feature on both the 2oz. snack pack and its 4 oz. peg bag.

ICC moves headquarters to new location housing corporate offices, product filling and manufacturing, packaging and shipping all under one roof.

Too Tarts SmartChoice Product lineup featured on the Food Network's Secret Life of Sweet & Sour Candy and Unwrapped

Too Tarts SmartChoice DREAM CHEWS featured in HEALTH Magazine

ICC announces partnership with the American Beverage Corporation (ABC) to develop and market a revolutionary, first-of-its-kind, sour fruit juice drink named Too Tarts SmartChoice Sour Wave. Sour Wave will create a whole new category in the juice drink market and hit stores in early 2007. ICC will develop the product and design and brand all packaging. ABC had responsibility for manufacturing and distribution of the drinks.

Too Tarts kids candy is featured in a segment on the Food Network show The Secret Life of Sweet and Sour.

Introduces its new recession buster Too Tarts Drops that have a retail of only around $.59 but still maintains great value and all the sugar-free health aspects.

Sinfully Delicious Dessert Sprays were featured on the Rachel Ray show. This episode of Rachel Ray, Human Lab: Appetite Suppressants, featured guests that had used various products to curb their cravings. Ultimately, the guest that consumed Sinfully Delicious Dessert Sprays as a method of satisfying their dessert cravings lost the most weight.

Too Tarts Melted Ice Cream Spray Candy and Monster Goo is featured in a segment on the Food Network Show Unwrapped.